Is it going to break?

L

Lo/Rez

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Feb 10, 2013
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I'm making a knife out of 5/32" S35VN and decided to try removable handle scales on it. Instead of drilling holes to relive some weight I thought I would try milling out the handle. I was thinking that leaving 3/16" around the edge would be sufficient for strength, but I made a mistake on one area and ended up making it 1/8". It will be heat treated to 61Rc. Under normal usage, what is the chance that this will break?

handle_zpsqutjbrle.jpg
 
I think you should be fine, I have some designs with weight reduction cutouts and they've been fine. They aren't choppers or anything though. The only potential thing could be stress risers if the corners are sharp. Someone else probably has a better answer for you though.
 
The skeletonizing on the handle isn't a problem as long as you don't grind too deep in finishing things and go through it.

The place where stress causes problems is at the ricasso-handle junction. A weak spot there can easily cause a failure. The front bolt hole should be at least 1" back from that spot and there should be at least 1/4" of metal between the hole and any side to maintain strength.
 
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